Senate passes tax reform bill

The U.S. Senate passed its version of tax reform, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1, early Saturday morning by a vote of 51–49, with all Democrats, both independents, and one Republican voting no. The vote followed two long days of debate and amendments. The bill, as approved, differs significantly from the version that was introduced by the Senate Finance Committee.

The Senate bill also differs from the version of H.R. 1 that the House of Representatives approved on Nov. 16. This means that the two houses will have to hold a conference to reconcile the differences between the bills and then both houses will have to vote on the revised bill, or the House will have to approve the legislation as passed by the Senate.